On Wipeout and Lion Burgers

Respect for the natural lives of others and
wanting justice for them shouldn't be determined by an accident of birth and
geography. Or even by a weak argument about near extinction.

Have you seen the ridiculous television show, Wipeout? There's something
hilarious about people intentionally putting themselves in a position to be
beaten up like Wile E. Coyote. It's all in fun, with much of the humor coming
from the commentators and the special sound effects.

It does get old, however, after about 10 minutes. At minute #9 for me last
night was a young woman going through one of the obstacle courses and getting
pummeled, just like everyone else. The commentator says that part of her
winnings will go to abolish animal cruelty (yes, abolish).

Cut to a conversation with the contestant . . .

Interviewer: "Are you a vegetarian?"

Contestant: "Nope. Well, sort of. I mean, I eat chicken and fish."

Interviewer: "Wait, so you want to abolish animal cruelty, except for
chickens and fish, (pointing at the contestant) because she doesn't like them?"

Contestant (flustered): "We, well, we used to have chickens on our ranch."

Interviewer: "Cows, okay, there's another one you kill. I think you actually
support animal cruelty."

Contestant (laughing): No.

I don't watch much television, so I don't know how extraordinary this moment
was. But for me, it was remarkable. I can only hope that even one person
watching in the comfort of their great room had an epiphany regarding what they
claim to believe and what they do.

If you kill animals or pay someone to do so for you, you support animal
cruelty. And no amount of donations to groups that supposedly want to abolish
animal cruelty is going to make up for the fact that until you stop having
animals killed for you you are part of the problem.

Finally, in my e-mailbox this morning, and probably in yours, was the Care2
newsletter, including a link to a column about a restaurant in Arizona that will
soon serve burgers made from lion meat. I was curious about why it's so terrible
to eat lions. They're from a legal farm in Illinois, so the law isn't the
reason. It's probably going to come down to culture, I thought. Lions aren't
food in our culture. But that wasn't it either.

The last paragraph states:

In the U.S. there may be any number of restaurants serving game. However,
with lions the story is different because they are a vulnerable species in
the wild, and their numbers are declining. Two recent surveys estimated the
range of African lions to be 16,500-30,000, or 29,000-47,000.

Here's my first problem with this: The number of lions in the wild is not
affected by the farming operation in Illinois. I respect the lives of lions, no
matter where they live, and I don't believe that they should be used for food
any more than cows should. But I don't feel like I was presented with a
compelling argument for not eating lions.

Then come the comments, including one by Devon N, who thinks that the
restaurant "is owned by someone without a conscience or soul." Devon N is joined
by many others who are appalled by the idea of eating lions.

I understand the impulse to be repulsed by the idea of eating lions.
Enculturation includes instructions on when to feel disgust. But once you step
outside yourself and you look at whatever the issue is from the perspective of
whomever is most affected by it--in this case lions--culture is meaningless.
Respect for the natural lives of others and wanting justice for them shouldn't
be determined by an accident of birth and geography. Or even by a weak argument
about near extinction.

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